17 Feminist Quotes From Your Favorite Celebs

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It’s been nearly 100 years since the passage of the U.S. Constitution’s 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. To celebrate this social, political, and economically significant day, we found it fitting to bring up the F-word. While the theology of feminism remains a touchy topic of conversation, we’re facing it head on with 18 quotes from some of our favorite celebrities (male and female) to show why fighting for gender equality is nothing to be ashamed or afraid of.

Scroll down to read these inspiring quotes!

1 of 17

Beyoncé

PHOTO: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

“We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.”—Beyoncé

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John Legend

PHOTO: Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for diNeila Brazil

"All men should be feminists. If men care about women's rights, the world will be a better place. We are better off when women are empowered, it leads to a better society."—John Legend

3 of 17

Lena Dunham

PHOTO: Mark Davis/Getty Images for Variety

“The idea of being a feminist: so many women have come to this idea of it being anti-male and not able to connect with the opposite sex, but what feminism is about is equality and human rights. For me that is just an essential part of my identity.”—Lena Dunham

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt

PHOTO: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

"I do call myself a feminist. Absolutely! It's worth paying attention to the roles that are sort of dictated to us, and that we don't have to fit into those roles. We can be anybody we want to be."—Joseph Gordon-Levitt

5 of 17

Sarah Jessica Parker

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"I took a page from [the playwright] Wendy Wasserstein's book. She said, 'I'm not a feminist, I'm a humanist.'"—Sarah Jessica Parker

6 of 17

Ryan Gosling

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"You have to question a cinematic culture that preaches artistic expression, and yet would support a decision that is clearly a product of a patriarchy-dominant society, which tries to control how women are depicted on screen. The MPAA is okay supporting scenes that portray women in scenarios of sexual torture and violence for entertainment purposes, but they are trying to force us to look away from a scene that shows a woman in a sexual scenario, which is both complicit and complex. It's misogynistic in nature to try and control a woman's sexual presentation of self."—Ryan Gosling

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Ellen Page

“I don’t know why people are so reluctant to say they’re feminists. Could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word?”—Ellen Page

8 of 17

Julianne Moore

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At one point, ‘feminist’ became a pejorative term. How did that happen? If you’re a feminist, you’re basically saying you’re a humanist.”—Julianne Moore

9 of 17

Prince Harry

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"When women are empowered, they immeasurably improve the lives of everyone around them—their families, their communities, and their countries. This is not just about women; we men need to recognize the part we play too. Real men treat women with dignity and give them the respect they deserve."—Prince Harry

10 of 17

Diana Vreeland

PHOTO: Rowland Scherman/Getty Images

“You don’t have to be pretty. You don’t owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend, spouse, or partner. Not to your co-workers, especially not to random men on the street. You don’t owe it to your mother, you don’t owe it to your children, you don’t owe it to civilization in general. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked ‘female.’”—Diana Vreeland

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Will Smith

PHOTO: Michel Dufour/WireImage

"We let Willow cut her hair. When you have a little girl, it's like, how can I teach her that she’s in control of her body? If I teach her that I'm in charge of whether or not she can touch her hair, she's going to replace me with some other man when she goes out in the world. She can't cut my hair, but that's her hair. She has got to have command of her body. So when she goes out into the world, she's going out with a command that is hers. She is used to making those decisions herself. We try to keep giving them those decisions until they can hold the full weight of their lives."—Will Smith

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Lupita Nyong'o

PHOTO: Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for Maui Film Festival At Wailea

“I hope that my presence on your screen and my face in magazines may lead you, young girls, on a beautiful journey. That you will feel the validation of your external beauty, but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside.”—Lupita Nyong’o

13 of 17

Seth Meyers

PHOTO: Ray Tamarra/FilmMagic

“When you work with the sort of really strong women that I work with, the idea that anyone would want to make decisions for them is hard to wrap your head around.”—Seth Meyers

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Rashida Jones

PHOTO: Stefanie Keenan/WireImage

“I would [call myself a feminist], yes. I believe in the unadulterated advancement of women. And we have so far to go still. I do think because women are so clever and flexible and such good communicators, it been hard for men to evolve and keep up. I think we could do a little better to help them out.”—Rashida Jones